| 1 | THE SELFISH GIANT |
| 2 | Every afternoon , as they were coming from school , the children used to go and play in the Giant 's garden . |
| 3 | It was a large lovely garden , with soft green grass . |
| 4 | Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars , and there were twelve peach - trees that in the spring - time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl , and in the autumn bore rich fruit . |
| 5 | The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them . |
| 6 | “ How happy we are here ! ” they cried to each other . |
| 7 | One day the Giant came back . |
| 8 | He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre , and had stayed with him for seven years . |
| 9 | After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say , for his conversation was limited , and he determined to return to his own castle . |
| 10 | When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden . |
| 11 | “ What are you doing here ? ” he cried in a very gruff voice , and the children ran away . |
| 12 | “ My own garden is my own garden , ” said the Giant ; “ any one can understand that , and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself . ” |
| 13 | So he built a high wall all round it , and put up a notice - board . |
| 14 | TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED |
| 15 | He was a very selfish Giant . |
| 16 | The poor children had now nowhere to play . |
| 17 | They tried to play on the road , but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones , and they did not like it . |
| 18 | They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over , and talk about the beautiful garden inside . |
| 19 | “ How happy we were there ! ” they said to each other . |
| 20 | Then the Spring came , and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds . |
| 21 | Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter . |
| 22 | The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children , and the trees forgot to blossom . |
| 23 | Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass , but when it saw the notice - board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again , and went off to sleep . |
| 24 | The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost . |
| 25 | “ Spring has forgotten this garden , ” they cried , “ so we will live here all the year round . ” |
| 26 | The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak , and the Frost painted all the trees silver . |
| 27 | Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them , and he came . |
| 28 | He was wrapped in furs , and he roared all day about the garden , and blew the chimney - pots down . |
| 29 | “ This is a delightful spot , ” he said , “ we must ask the Hail on a visit . ” |
| 30 | So the Hail came . |
| 31 | Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates , and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go . |
| 32 | He was dressed in grey , and his breath was like ice . |
| 33 | “ I can not understand why the Spring is so late in coming , ” said the Selfish Giant , as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden ; “ I hope there will be a change in the weather . ” |
| 34 | But the Spring never came , nor the Summer . |
| 35 | The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden , but to the Giant 's garden she gave none . |
| 36 | “ He is too selfish , ” she said . |
| 37 | So it was always Winter there , and the North Wind and the Hail , and the Frost , and the Snow danced about through the trees . |
| 38 | One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music . |
| 39 | It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King 's musicians passing by . |
| 40 | It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window , but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world . |
| 41 | Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head , and the North Wind ceased roaring , and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement . |
| 42 | “ I believe the Spring has come at last , ” said the Giant ; and he jumped out of bed and looked out . |
| 43 | What did he see ? |
| 44 | He saw a most wonderful sight . |
| 45 | Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in , and they were sitting in the branches of the trees . |
| 46 | In every tree that he could see there was a little child . |
| 47 | And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms , and were waving their arms gently above the children 's heads . |
| 48 | The birds were flying about and twittering with delight , and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing . |
| 49 | It was a lovely scene , only in one corner it was still winter . |
| 50 | It was the farthest corner of the garden , and in it was standing a little boy . |
| 51 | He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree , and he was wandering all round it , crying bitterly . |
| 52 | The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow , and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it . |
| 53 | “ Climb up ! little boy , ” said the Tree , and it bent its branches down as low as it could ; but the boy was too tiny . |
| 54 | And the Giant 's heart melted as he looked out . |
| 55 | “ How selfish I have been ! ” he said ; “ now I know why the Spring would not come here . |
| 56 | I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree , and then I will knock down the wall , and my garden shall be the children 's playground for ever and ever . ” |
| 57 | He was really very sorry for what he had done . |
| 58 | So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly , and went out into the garden . |
| 59 | But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away , and the garden became winter again . |
| 60 | Only the little boy did not run , for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming . |
| 61 | And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand , and put him up into the tree . |
| 62 | And the tree broke at once into blossom , and the birds came and sang on it , and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant 's neck , and kissed him . |
| 63 | And the other children , when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer , came running back , and with them came the Spring . |
| 64 | “ It is your garden now , little children , ” said the Giant , and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall . |
| 65 | And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen . |
| 66 | All day long they played , and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good - bye . |
| 67 | “ But where is your little companion ? ” he said : “ the boy I put into the tree . ” |
| 68 | The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him . |
| 69 | “ We do n't know , ” answered the children ; “ he has gone away . ” |
| 70 | “ You must tell him to be sure come here to - morrow , ” said the Giant . |
| 71 | But the children said that they did not know where he lived , and had never seen him before ; and the Giant felt very sad . |
| 72 | Every afternoon , when school was over , the children came and played with the Giant . |
| 73 | But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again . |
| 74 | The Giant was very kind to all the children , yet he longed for his first little friend , and often spoke of him . |
| 75 | “ How I would like to see him ! ” he used to say . |
| 76 | Years went over , and the Giant grew very old and feeble . |
| 77 | He could not play about any more , so he sat in a huge armchair , and watched the children at their games , and admired his garden . |
| 78 | “ I have many beautiful flowers , ” he said ; “ but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all . ” |
| 79 | One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing . |
| 80 | He did not hate the winter now , for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep , and that the flowers were resting . |
| 81 | Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder and looked and looked . |
| 82 | It certainly was a marvellous sight . |
| 83 | In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms . |
| 84 | Its branches were all golden , and silver fruit hung down from them , and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved . |
| 85 | Down stairs ran the Giant in great joy , and out into the garden . |
| 86 | He hastened across the grass , and came near to the child . |
| 87 | And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger , and he said , “ Who hath dared to wound thee ? ” |
| 88 | For on the palms of the child 's hands were the prints of two nails , and the prints of two nails were on the little feet . |
| 89 | “ Who hath dared to wound thee ? ” cried the Giant ; |
| 90 | “ tell me , that I might take my big sword and slay him . ” |
| 91 | “ Nay ! ” answered the child ; “ but these are the wounds of Love . ” |
| 92 | “ Who art thou ? ” said the Giant , and a strange awe fell on him , and he knelt before the little child . |
| 93 | And the child smiled on the Giant , and said to him , “ You let me play once in your garden , to - day you shall come with me to my garden , which is Paradise . ” |
| 94 | And when the children ran in that afternoon , they found the Giant lying dead under the tree , all covered with white blossoms . |